In Need of A Hero
by whimsical-one2007
Summary: Five thousand years after Ganon, and the world has gone to hell. Hylians are the only natives left, and the world is in bad shaoe, To top it off, people are disappearing. Hyrule needs a Hero.  AU. ZeLink. Sweary Words. All the good stuff. No OCs to date.


_**Well, hi there, strangers. It's been a while, yes?  
I've decided that I'm going to see this story through to the bitter end, whether it turns out how I liked it or not. That's one of my two pre-emptive New Year's Resolutions, the other being a girl who shares my logic. Onwards!

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**1. The Girl in The Alleyway**

It had been snowing hard these last few months in Hyrule, and Dark was sick of it. Everywhere he went, he stuck out against the snow because of his skin tone. Silently, he cursed his own shadowy existence.

He was an assassin sent to kill the Hero of Time. Unfortunately for him, he missed his target by several thousand years, and had spent most of that time drifting in and out of various cities, avoiding major historical events, and keeping to himself until about two years ago.

Two years ago, the shit hit the fan.  
Two years ago, the Hero's descendant awoke and had to save the world.

Git.

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Link sat propped against the cold stone wall of the Temple of Time. He was busy sketching some kind of sword, and keeping himself occupied. As such, he barely noticed when Rauru, the elderly priest, entered the great hall.

"Ah, Link my boy. How are you this fine Winter's Grasp?"

Link started at the priest's voice.

"Ah, Priest Rauru! I didn't notice you enter! I-I'm quite well, sir, and how are you?"

The old priest chuckled, his wrinkles creasing up.

"I am quite fine, my boy. In fact, I'm better than ever. Tell me, have you been keeping with your historical studies?"

Link was puzzled.

"If you mean my Ancient Hylian History course, then yes. I've never heard it put quite like that though."

The elderly man laughed again, and helped Link to his feet.

"Why don't you come with me? There's something I have to show you."

Rauru led Link into the very back of the Temple, towards the ancient Door of Time. According to AHH 101, the Door of Time hadn't opened in nearly five thousand years, since the Hero of Time appeared to destroy the Great Darkness. It was said (more like speculated, really) that the legendary Master Sword (or Skyward Sword, it seemed to vary with the textbooks) lay beyond the door, in the Pedestal of Time. It was said (again, speculation) that if the heir to the Hero drew the sword, he would become his ancestor. Though, this could only occur in a time of great need. Like war, and stuff.

Rauru stopped at the Door and Link looked at it closely. He had never been this closely to it, and had never seen how beautiful and well-preserved it was. This thing dated back thousands of years before the Hero, making it about eight-or-so-thousand years old. And yet, he could still see the fine marks of the chisel that had carved it.

The old priest opened his robe and pulled out three glowing stones. Link gasped as he recognized the Spiritual Stones of legend. One from the Kokiri Forest, now razed for condos. One from the Zora Tribe, now extinct because of pollution. One from the Goron Tribe, who left Hyrule long ago.

"They said the Hero would reappear in a time of great need, Link. This kingdom needs a hero now more than ever before. The original bearers of these Stones are either dead or long gone because of the selfishness of Hyliankind. I believe it is up to you to stage a revolution and turn this kingdom around."

Link stared at him.

"You want me to become some kind of… eco-terrorist? Fighting The Man for the good of the environment?"

"No, Link. I want you to fight for all. You haven't heard stories lately about people going missing? Nothing of the Haunted Wasteland to the west?"

Link stopped for a moment to think. There were three girls in his class who hadn't appeared in over a month, but… no…

"I know you have, Link, and that is why you have to take up the sword."

Rauru placed each stone in its respective slot and whistled an ancient song, one that hadn't been heard in the temple in over five thousand years.

All down the long corridor, torches sprang to life. The old stone door creaked, and with a sound of grinding stone, it opened, revealing a white chamber with a high ceiling, and a long pedestal in the center.

The Pedestal of Time.

"No. No, you can't just throw this at me… I'm not the Hero's Descendant, I'm just some kid from Kokiri."

And with that, he ran off, leaving a stunned Rauru in his wake.

Link ran. And ran. And ran a little more. Then he stopped for breath. And ran.

He turned down an alleyway, somewhere off Castle Road, and found himself face to face with a terrifying scene.

Two armored brutes were advancing on a short(or maybe just huddled up) brown-haired girl, bastard swords held high.

Without a second thought, Link grabbed a nearby sword ("Pretty conveniently placed," he later remarked) and leapt into action, bring his sword sweeping down on the large (ish) thing's arm.

With a roar, it turned to face him, and the skeleton in the armor rattled (Rattlecages, he dubbed them).

He rolled sideways, narrowly missing a blow from the other skeleton, and dug his sword into a gap in the Rattlecage's armor. The beast roared and fell down, dead (he hoped).

The second skeleton let out an ear-splitting roar and swung at Link, catching his shoulder and dislocating it. With a cry, Link fell to the ground, sword sliding away. The skeleton advanced on him, sword raised high. It brought the weapon crashing down…

…and shrieked in agony as a sword blade was thrust through its skull.

Link breathed a sigh of relief as the Rattlecage (Stalfos, but he wasn't sure how knew that) fell to the ground, joining the other one briefly before they both melted away into shadows. He turned to face the girl, but she was nowhere to be seen.

With a sigh, he hefted the sword and left the alley, heading back towards the Temple.

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From the darkness, a shadowy figure watched the entire scene, a grin on its non-existent lips.

"Well, well, well. Hello there, Heroboy."

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_**And that's the first chapter. Honestly, it's longer than I thought. And probably terrible.**_

_**Reviews are always welcome, as is constructive criticism.**_

_**Ta-ta!**_


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